Director of Public Prosecutions v Ford

[2015] VCC 1519

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

SHANE FORD

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JUDGE:	JUDGE MAIDMENT
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	23 October 2015
DATE OF SENTENCE:	23 October 2015
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Ford
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2015] VCC 1519

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr P. Doyle
For the Accused	Mr C. Terry

HIS HONOUR: 

1Shane Leslie Ford, you can stay seated for the time being.  You have pleaded guilty to an indictment charging you with sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 years; common assault; and making a threat to kill, intending that your victim would fear that the threat would be carried out.  All of the offending occurred in the period between 1 March of 1999 and 30 September of 1999.

2You have admitted a number of prior convictions and court appearances.  Although the prior convictions are now a considerable period of time ago, they do, I think, reflect the drug abuse that you were involved in at that time, and are not directly relevant as such to this sentencing exercise.  The subsequent court appearances and convictions are relevant in that they do reflect on your prospects of rehabilitation.  As your counsel readily conceded a moment or two ago, the more recent offending involving violence is somewhat troubling.

3Nevertheless, I think you have taken considerable steps, and made considerable strides in rectifying your lifestyle and in rehabilitating yourself from a period in your life when you could easily have gone the other way and gravitated to a habitual life of crime, in and out of prison.

4The prosecution has tendered and read to the court an amended summary, which I will not repeat now.  It catalogues a pattern of behaviour on your part, towards your victim, that was utterly deplorable.  The prosecution has just described it, I think accurately, and I will not seek to improve on their description of your offending conduct.

5I cannot help but be moved by the victim impact statement.  I hope that it had some effect on you too, because it is just that kind of conduct which can lead to very significant, long-term consequences to other people.  You were much younger then, but you were a good deal older than she was.   Even though you come from a very difficult background and lacked the kind of role models in your life that might have led you to behave better, you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.

6It seems that in the material - I have not seen it, but I have had it described to me today - there are some letters from you which indicate that much closer to the time, and not long after the conclusion of your relationship with your victim, you indicated that you had some insight into the effect of your behaviour upon her, and the disgraceful conduct that you engaged in during the relationship you had with her.

7These charges are representative charges.  They reflect that pattern of conduct.  I am bound to take into account the effect on your victim, and I do.

8There has been a lengthy delay.  I am not suggesting that there is any fault on anybody's part in that delay.  I can well understand why Ms Westbrook[1] would have been reluctant to have brought a case earlier.  It may be that she gained strength over the years.  It involves reliving unpleasant events in her life.  Hopefully these proceedings will bring her a deal of closure, which she richly deserves.

[1]Westbrook is a pseudonym.

9I acknowledge the very difficult upbringing you had.  I acknowledge the fact that your upbringing would have contributed to your drug problems and that in turn, and your upbringing, would have contributed to your bad behaviour during your period in the relationship with Ms Westbrook.

10It is to your credit, as I have already indicated, that you have, it seems, been able to put all that behind you.  You have settled down in a new relationship to family life, and you are able now to treat people in an appropriate manner.

11I undoubtedly would have been considering, and probably would have imposed a term of imprisonment of not inconsiderable length.  The pattern of conduct I think would have demanded that.  However, taking all the matters that have been put before me into account, I have already indicated that I do not propose to do that.

12Your counsel has provided me with a very helpful outline of submissions, and the supporting material which includes the psychological report from Ms Carla Lechner, and the letter from Dr Ereons, who has known you for over ten years and treated you and your family over that period of time, and has formed a favourable impression of you, which has not been shaken by revelations of this conduct to him.

13Ms Lechner has concluded that you do not have any mental illness or psychosexual problems; that your prospects or your risk of committing further offences of this kind are low.  And I think that what has happened in the period between 2000 and now would support those contentions.

14I have to denounce conduct of this kind, and I hope that what I have said to some extent has done that already.  I have to punish you adequately for your offending conduct.  It is much more difficult to do so after 15 years or more have gone by, but I have to find just punishment for you.

15It is also important that I deter you, although I think that is of less importance, but most importantly deter others.  That again is hard adequately to achieve with the passage of time.  But I have also got to take into account your prospects of rehabilitation, and to impose a sentence that promotes your rehabilitation to the extent that I can, having regard to the other sentencing considerations.

16The fact that you are, it seems, well settled now, I think means that I should not interfere with the progress that you are making by imposing any kind of custodial sentence, as I have already indicated.  I cannot impose a community corrections order unless you consent.

17I have in mind requiring you to perform 250 hours of unpaid community work.  I do not intend to impose any other special conditions.  You will understand, no doubt, what a community corrections order is, and what the requirements of the order are.  It would mean you performing those hours in a period of 18 months from today's date, and once you have performed those 250 hours, the order would come to an end.

18The other factor that you have to consider is that if you breach the order by failing to comply with the conditions of the order; failing to attend appointments; failing to turn up for the work that is allocated to you; failing to complete it satisfactorily; that would involve you putting yourself at risk of breach proceedings, which may result in a term of imprisonment of up to three months.  Also, you would render yourself liable to be resentenced on this matter, and it may be necessary to consider other options.

19The other way in which you could breach the order is by committing another offence punishable by imprisonment during the period of the order.  If you did that you would be up for the three months for the breach of the order; you would be up for any punishment imposed for the further offending; and you would be at risk of a more severe punishment for this offending, and you would be brought back and dealt with for it again.

20It is important, therefore, that you abide by the terms of the order.  Now will all those things in mind, are you willing to consent to being placed on a community corrections order?

21OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

22HIS HONOUR:  All right.  Shane Leslie Ford, will you stand please.  For each of the three offences on the indictment to which you have pleaded guilty, I convict you, and I impose a community corrections order for a period of 18 months, commencing today.

23And it will have a number of core conditions which I will not trouble you with, but you will be able to consider those at your leisure, and the only special condition or additional condition is that you perform 250 hours of unpaid community work.  As I have indicated, if you complete that 250 hours within the 18 months, that will bring the order to an end automatically, so there is some incentive for you to get on and perform those hours.

24But for your pleas of guilty, I would have imposed a community corrections order along with a term of imprisonment of three months.  And I think you should bear that in mind, if you consider breaching the order.  That would have been a much greater sentence, had I been sentencing you closer to the time.

25All right, I also make the order for the provision of a forensic sample in the terms of the draft which I have been provided.  It will require you to report to the officer in charge of the Glen Waverley police station during the period set out in the order.  When you do so, you will be required by an authorised member of the police force to provide a scraping from the inside of your mouth.  If you do that, then that is the end of the matter; if you fail or refuse to do that when required, then the officer will be authorised to take a blood sample, and may use reasonable force to achieve that.  I am sure you will not put them to that trouble.

26Now, the order is about to be produced, and Mr Terry, would you make sure that your client understands exactly what he is being asked to sign, and then he can sign it.  Take a seat for the moment.

27MR DOYLE:  The Sex Offenders Registration Act as well, Your Honour?

28HIS HONOUR:  Yes, I need to inform you - yes, just stand again - that you will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Sex Offenders Registration Act for a period of 15 years.  I have no discretion in that matter, and you will be provided with information about what your reporting obligations are.  Take a seat.

29Mr Doyle, you have only given me one copy of s.464ZF, I think, haven't you?

30MR DOYLE:  Yes, Your Honour.  My instructor thought she'd provided three, but in any event, if Your Honour signs one of them, I suppose we could copy the signed document.

31HIS HONOUR:  I am not sure whether that is necessarily acceptable.

32MR DOYLE:  Yes, Your Honour.

33HIS HONOUR:  I think if she could possibly provide.

34MR DOYLE:  Yes.  We'll get it done.

35HIS HONOUR:  I am not suggesting that she has failed to provide three.

36MR DOYLE:  No.

37HIS HONOUR:  Sometimes the dog eats them, and it may have gone astray, I do not know.

38MR DOYLE:  We'll get a copy now, Your Honour.

39HIS HONOUR:  We need to check on the closest community corrections centre.  Is it Box Hill?

40MR TERRY:  Yes.  My client's saying yes.

41HIS HONOUR:  Box Hill.  All right.

42MR TERRY:  Sorry, Your Honour.  My client's partner is saying Dandenong.

43HIS HONOUR:  Dandenong, yes.  Mr Terry, if you would just accompany my associate.

44(Community-based order signed and acknowledged.)

45All right.  Well I have signed that.  The order is now in place.  You may leave the dock, and Mr Doyle, if you provide me with two other copies of the order, I will sign those.

46MR DOYLE:  Thank you, Your Honour.  Your Honour, my instructor will email those to Your Honour's associate as soon as she gets back.

47HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  I will just stand down for a few minutes.

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